The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced that about 62,698 cases of double voter registration were discovered in Anambra State.
The INEC Chairman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, stated this in Abuja on Friday at an emergency meeting with political parties.
Yakubu said the meeting was necessary in order to brief the parties on the commission’s preparations for the coming governorship election as well as some other recent developments in the state.
He said it was discovered during the clean-up of registration data in Anambra that 62,698 people who are already registered voters, registered again.
“In Anambra State, a total of 138,802 citizens completed the registration, including applications for transfer and requests for replacement of lost, damaged or defaced PVCs as required by law. However, in the process of cleaning up the registration data, we discovered that many previously registered persons re-registered afresh,” he said.
He continued that “As a testimony to the effectiveness of our new system for checking double and multiple registrations, the commission found out that some 62,698 persons who are already registered voters in Anambra State went ahead to register again. These double or multiple registrations are invalid by law. We have archived these registrations and will not print new PVCs for them.
“Their old PVCs remain valid and they can use them to vote at the Polling Units where they registered and probably voted in previously elections. The same cleaning up exercise is going on nationwide. As soon as it is over, the commission will provide further details to Nigerians on the situation in other States of the Federation and action to be taken on the matter. Let me remind all Nigerians that the law prohibits double registration.
“Consequently, the number of valid registrants in Anambra State at the end of the first quarter of the CVR exercise on 5th September 2021 is 77,475. This figure has been added to the existing register of 2,447,996 eligible voters used for the 2019 General Election. Accordingly, the number of registered voters in Anambra State now stands at 2,525,471.”
Yakubu added that the security around INEC facilities in the state has been ramped up in preparation for the upcoming election and appealed to the political parties not to worsen insecurity with their utterances and actions.
“This could compound the security situation and make the work of the Commission, political parties and security agencies even more difficult. It may also lead to voter apathy,” he added.
